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Kahanism

Kahanism

. Assassinated in New York City on November 5th, 1990 by the Egyptian Islamist El Sayyid Nosair.]] Kahanism is a right-wing Religious Zionist movement which some consider to be an extremist fringe movement, named after one of its major proponents, Rabbi Meir Kahane. Following Kahane's assassination in 1990, the movement was split in two. One splinter group is headed by Kiryat Arba settler leader Baruch Marzel, while the other by Rabbi Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane of Kfar Tapuach, who was assassinated in 2000.

Premises

The major premise of Kahanism is that the Arabs are hostile to the Jews, and that a "Greater Israel", absent of the hostile Arab population, should be created in at minimum present-day Israel including the West Bank and Gaza Strip or should include presently-Jordanian territory on the East Bank of the Jordan River. Some Kahanists also argue that such a greater Israel should be ruled according to Jewish theocratic law known as Halakha.

Outlawed

Since 1985, State of Israel has outlawed groups espousing Kahane's ideology as being racist, and forbids their participating in the Israeli government. The Kach party was banned from running for the Knesset in 1988, while the existence of the two Kahanist movements formed following Kahane's assassination were proclaimed illegal terrorist organizations in 1994 and the groups subsequently disbanded.

Alleged Kahanist actions in Israel and the West Bank

1994

Dr. Baruch Goldstein

The deadliest attack was when Baruch Goldstein, affiliated with Kach through the JDL, killed 29 Arabs at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, in 1994. After this attack, members of Kach praised Goldstein's actions, and in the insuing political turmoil, the Knesset banned Kach in Israel. Kahanists believe the attack prevented a repeat of the 1929 Arab massacre of Hebron's Jews.

Suspected Kahanist violence

Roadside shootings, stabbings and grenade attacks against Palestinians have been carried out in Jerusalem and the West Bank by individuals or groups suspected of having ties to the former Kach group. Aliases such as "The Committee for the Safety of the Roads" [http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=3500], "The Sword of David" and "The Repression of Traitors" have been used. There is no evidence that real organizations with these names exist. The US government, claims that these are all aliases of "Kach", [http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rpt/fto/2801.htm#kach].

Eden Natan-Zada

On August 4, 2005, Eden Natan-Zada murdered four Israeli Arab citizens and wounded several others when he opened fire on a bus in the northern Israeli town of Shfaram. Natan-Zada was an AWOL Israel Defense Forces soldier. He became involved with Kahanist activists via the internet, and hid from service in the religious West Bank settlement of Kfar Tapuach, home of deceased Kahane Chai leader Binyamin Kahane. No group has taken credit for Natan-Zada's attack or claimed that he was acting on their wishes, and members of the Kfar Tapuach community have condemned his attack against Arab civilians.

Kahanism in the USA

The main Kahanist group in the United States is the Kahane Movement which was formed by former memebers of Kahane Chai after the latter disbanded. The Jewish Defense League is associated with Kahanism having been founded by Rabbi Kahane, however its focus is the protection of Jewish communities from attacks by street thugs and anti-semites. It is not directly involved in Kahanist politics and openly supports mainstream democracy in Israel typically rejected by Kahanists. Another group in the United States with Kahanist leanings is the Jewish Task Force (JTF), which splits its political ideological focus between Israel and America.

See also


- Revisionist Zionism

External links


- [http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0151/vest.php An analysis of terrorism]
- [http://www.jpost.com/Letters/25638.html Palestinian victims of terrorism]
- [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/israel/ An analysis and history of Kahane and Kahanism, based on an episode of "Frontline"]

Kahanist and Kahane related websites


- [http://www.kahane.org/ Official Kahane Site]
- [http://www.jdl.org.il/ Jewish Defense League]
- [http://www.revava.org/index.php Revava]
- [http://www.hameir.org/ HaMeir L'David]
- [http://www.kahanebooks.com/ Kahane Books]
- [http://www.geocities.com/miyadnkm MIYAD]
- [http://masada2000.org/ Masada2000]
- [http://www.jtf.org/ Jewish Task Force]
-

Assassination

, the alleged assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, in a very public manner]] In its most common use, assassination has come to mean the killing of an important person. An assassin — one who carries out the assassination — is usually motivated by ideological or political reasons. Other motivations may be money in the case of a hitman; opposition to a person's beliefs or belief systems in the case of a fanatic; orders from a government that are often carried about by a subversive agent such as a spy; or loyalty to a competing leader or group. Assassination, like companion terms such as terrorism and freedom fighter, is often considered to be a loaded term. According to The American Heritage Dictionary, "To murder (a prominent person) by surprise attack, as for political reasons."[http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=assassination] The definition of assassination is generally much clearer than the others. Most assassins appear comfortable enough with their deed to describe it as such publicly, whereas few call themselves terrorists.

Etymology

The term Assassin originally referred to a heretical Islamic order known as the Hashshashin. According to one derivation, the word means "those who use hashish" (cannabis resin) in Arabic because, according to Crusader histories, that group used to ingest hashish before carrying out military or assassination operations, in order to be fearless. The group, known as the Nizari Ismailis, was a Shia order who believed in the notion of the hazir imam and was organized as a secret underground political order, which infiltrated areas under the control of Seljuk Turks. In 1090 the sect captured a castle called Alamut in the mountains of Northern Iran. This sect was said to carry out assassinations of the enemies of the order, or Muslim rulers they believed to be impious. The earliest known record of the word in English dates back to 1603, referring to this sect rather than its more general modern sense. Similar words had earlier appeared in French and Italian. However, according to another derivation, the word Hashshashin derives from the Arabic word hassas, from the root hassa, meaning "to kill". Benjamin of Tudela provided the first western account of the sect. Marco Polo's elaborate account is probably fictionalized in part. He said that recruits were promised Paradise in return for dying in action. They were drugged, often with materials such as hashish (although some suggest opium and wine instead, despite all three drugs being condemned by Islamic religious authorities and interpretations of the time) then spirited away to a garden stocked with attractive and compliant women and fountains of wine. At this time, they were awakened and it was explained to them that such was their reward for the deed, convincing them that their leader, Hassan-i-Sabah, could open the gates to Paradise. The name assassin is derived from either hasishin for the supposed influence of their attacks and disregard for their own lives in the process, or hassansin for their leader. All this history, however, is tenous, as it relies entirely on crusader-authored histories which have been traditionally very unreliable for information about native cultures. Nowadays is known that "hashishinnya" was an offensive term used to depict this cult by its Muslim and Mongolian detractors; the extreme zeal of Nizarites and the very cold preparation to murder makes it very unlikely they ever used drugs, while there is evidence that one of the first of Hassan's sons was sentenced to death by his father only for drinking a little wine. Moreover, despite many unlikely legends, they usually died along with their target (a tale tells of a mother being sad knowing her son survived a "mission"). As far as known they only used daggers (no other weapons, poison or whatever fictional records make them use) and it seems that they killed only five westerners during the time of the Crusades. Hassan-i-Sabah. He was shot and injured, and thereafter appeared in public in a custom-built "Popemobile" featuring bulletproof glass]]

Definition problems

Unlike some topics, notably terrorism, wherein there is a substantial grey area and often bitter controversy between which specific instances qualify or even what standards should be used, the "common sense" classification of assassination stated at the outset of this article seems to stand with few objections. However, this does open larger issues concerning interpretation, notably regarding attempted killings by those with other motives — is it an assassination simply if the person is a major leader or public figure espousing a cause, or only if the assassin's reason for the attack is due to that person's status as a figurehead for a particular issue? Notable instances in which this definitive problem might come into effect include the attempt on the life of United States President Ronald Reagan by John Hinckley, who was determined subsequently to have serious psychological problems and publicly stated his intent was to get the attention of actress Jodie Foster rather than make any political statement. The killing of former Beatle John Lennon would raise the same problem — despite Lennon's outspokenness on many liberal political issues, his killer does not seem to have been more than an unstable fan. The use of the term "assassination" to describe Lennon's murder is a matter of some additional debate, since Lennon was primarily an entertainer, not a political figure, and it could be argued that describing his killing as an assassination is no more appropriate than, for example, using the term to describe the murders of singers Selena Quintanilla or Marvin Gaye. In another example, although conspiracy theorists suggest the apparent suicide of Marilyn Monroe might have been a politically motivated murder, the term "assassination" is rarely, if ever, used in this context. The attempt on the life of President Gerald Ford by a member of Charles Manson's cult could be the same; while it might perhaps be considered part and parcel of the anti-government, neo-fascist ideology to which Manson and his group adhered, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, the assassin, was not widely considered legally competent in her judgment at the time (although she was later tried and convicted). Should these cases be classified as attempted assassinations? The issue is further complicated by the fact that while Lennon was likely as outspoken politically as Reagan and Ford, and certainly as famous, Reagan and Ford were elected officials at the time, possibly requiring different criteria for Lennon's case. One can take one of three positions (note that this consideration is of necessity strictly based upon language, not law): that the killing of someone only for political, moral, or ideological reasons constitutes an assassination (hence neither Reagan nor Lennon were the victims of assassins' attacks, while Ford was), that the killing of someone serving in politics or public office counts (thus Reagan's and Ford's attackers were would-be assassins, while Lennon's killer was not), or that anyone with a significant level of political involvement would be an assassination victim in the event of their murder (in which case all three instances would be assassinations or attempts). While it must be acknowledged that attempting to read a person's thoughts is both imperfect and somewhat antithetical to the nature of such an issue, for the purposes of this article, the first, most conservative definition is taken. Although it is likely that the second is the most popular, the first is technically the most correct, and the third is generally considered to be too general in application. Therefore, all assassinations or attempts mentioned in the article will strictly follow the guidelines outlined at the outset to prevent confusion.

Reasons for assassinations

Assassination as a political tool

Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme' top political nemesis, was shot dead by an alleged assassin in 1983, who was later killed by military escorts of Aquino. Investigations later concluded that one of the escorts shot the late senator.]] Some would argue that assassination is one of the oldest tools of power politics, dating back to the earliest governments of the world. Towards the end of the Warring States Period (3rd century BC) in China, the state Qin rose to hegemony over other states. The Prince of the state Yan felt the threat and sought to remove the Qin king (later Qin Shi Huang) and sent Jing Ke for the mission. The assassination attempt was foiled and Jing Ke was killed on the spot. Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great, can be viewed as a victim of assassination. It is a fact, however, that by the fall of the Roman Republic assassination had become a commonly-accepted tool towards the end not only of improving one's own position, but to influence policy — the killing of Gaius Julius Caesar being a notable example, though many Emperors met such an end. In whatever case, there seems to have not been a good deal of moral indignation at the practice amongst the political circles of the time, save, naturally, by the affected. As the Middle Ages came about from the fall of the Roman Empire, the moral and ethical dimensions of what was before a simple political tool began to take shape. Although in that period intentional regicide was an extremely rare occurrence, the situation changed dramatically with the Renaissance when the ideas of tyrannomachy (i.e. killing of a King when his rule becomes tyrannical) re-emerged and gained recognition. Many a head of state of the time fell at the hands of an assassin, such as Henri III and Henry IV of France. There were notable detractors, however; Abd-ul-Mejid of the Ottoman Empire refused to put to death plotters against his life during his reign. As the world moved into the present day and the stakes in political clashes of will continued to grow to a global scale, the number of assassinations concurrently multiplied. In Russia alone, five emperors were assassinated within less than 200 years - Ivan VI, Peter III, Paul I, Alexander II and Nicholas II. The most notable assassination victim within early U.S. history was President Abraham Lincoln. Three other U.S. Presidents have been assassinated: James Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy. An assassination plot against Jefferson Davis, known as the Dahlgren Affair, may have been initiated during the American Civil War. In Europe the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand triggered World War I. However, the 20th century likely marks the first time nation-states began training assassins to be specifically used against so-called enemies of the state. During World War II, for example, MI6 trained a group of Czechoslovakian operatives to kill the Nazi general Reinhard Heydrich (who did later perish by their efforts - see Operation Anthropoid), and repeated attempts were made by both the British MI6, the American Office of Strategic Services (later the Central Intelligence Agency) and the Soviet SMERSH to kill Adolf Hitler. The Cold War saw a dramatic increase in the number of political assassinations, likely in large part due to the ideological polarization of most of the First and Second worlds, whose adherents were more than willing to both justify and finance such killings. During the Kennedy era Fidel Castro narrowly escaped death on several occasions at the hands of the CIA (a function of the agency's "executive action" program) and CIA-backed rebels (there are accounts that exploding clams and poisoned shoes were employed); some allege that Salvador Allende of Chile was another example, though specific proof is lacking. At the same time, the KGB made creative use of assassination to deal with high-profile defectors such as Georgi Markov, and Israel's Mossad made use of such tactics to eliminate Palestinian guerrillas, politicians and revolutionaries, though some Israelis argue that the targeted often crossed the line between one or another or were even all three. Most major powers were not long in repudiating such tactics, for example during the presidency of Gerald Ford in the United States in 1976 (Executive Order 12333). Many allege, however, that this is merely a smoke screen for political and moral benefit and that the covert and illegal training of assassins by major intelligence agencies continue, such as at the School of the Americas run by the United States. In fact, the debate over the use of such tactics is not closed by any means; many accuse Russia of continuing to practice it in Chechnya and against Chechens abroad, as well as Israel in Palestine and against Palestinians abroad (as well as those Mossad deems a threat to Israeli national security, as in the aftermath of the Munich Massacre) and Palestinians and other Arab nations against Jews in Israel and abroad. Proponents of assassination as a political tool point out that it can be a very effective and inexpensive way to prevent loss of life. Opponents of assassination bring up a number of objections. The first is that assassination is essentially the death penalty stripped of the normal judicial safeguards that limit its use. Second, opponents of assassination question its effectiveness. Most conventional military and political organizations are robust so that the death of the leader would not cause them to collapse. Furthermore, using assassination against a terrorist or guerilla organization may result in the complete elimination of the known leaders of that organization, but create a set of unknown leaders who cannot then be located. Finally, assassination makes a negotiation of surrender impossible. Near the end of World War II, for example, Allied forces made specific efforts not to target the political and military leadership of the Axis Powers specifically so that there would be someone to authorize a surrender.

Assassination for money

Individually, too, people have often found reasons to arrange the deaths of others through paid intermediaries. One who kills with no political motive or group loyalty who kills only for money is known as a hitman or contract killer. Note that by the definition accepted above, while such a killer is not, strictly speaking, an assassin, if the killing is ordered and financed towards a political end, then that killing must rightly be termed an assassination, and the hitman an assassin by extension (in the same way that a Manchurian Candidate-style killer would be an assassin because, though they have been brainwashed to kill and have therefore no political aims, those that brainwashed them do have such aims, and if the killing can be termed an assassination, the killer must be an assassin). Entire organizations have sometimes specialized in assassination as one of their services, to be gained for the right price. Besides the original hashshashin, the ninja clans of Japan were rumored to perform assassinations — though it can be pointed out that most of what was ever known about the ninja was rumor and hearsay. In the United States, Murder Incorporated, an organization partnered to the Mafia, was formed for the sole purpose of performing assassinations for organized crime. In Russia, the vory (thieves), their version of the Mafia, are often known to provide assassinations for the right price, as well as engaging in it themselves for their own purposes.

Assassination as military doctrine

While assassination for military purposes has long been espoused — Sun Tzu argued for such in The Art of War, as did Machiavelli in his The Prince — many modern analysts hold the belief that today such a system would not be of any significant use in a strategic way. In medieval times, for instance, an army and even a nation might be based upon and around a particularly strong, canny or charismatic leader, whose loss could paralyze the ability of both to make war. However, in modern warfare a soldier's mindset is generally considered to surround ideals far more than specific leaders. Theoretically, while the death of a soldier's leader would (and does) have a detrimental effect on morale, the comfort of the cause for which they fight is far more sustainable than such supposedly-transitive loyalty to a single person. Also, assassinating a military leader runs the risk of eliminating a later advocate of peace, as many would argue that military leaders, seeing the face of warfare and bearing a clearer sense of the war effort's effects, have more sagacity on the subject. There is the risk that the target may be an incompetent and could be replaced by a more competent leader. Not only that, but worse, there is a high chance such a killing will be treated as not only reinforcing evidence of the opponents' moral bankruptcy, but also "martyr" the leader, increasing their charisma posthumously and rallying still others to an enemy cause and hardening the enemies' resolve to fight — and resist entreaties to peace (indeed, the death in battle of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, while not an assassination, led directly to the Catholic defeat at Lützen as the infuriated Swedes rallied behind their fallen leader). Such an effect can be extremely detrimental to a group or state, but supporters might argue in return that when faced with a particularly brilliant leader, there is no choice but to take the chance and, essentially, hope for a more mediocre successor (one might use the example of the many attempts to kill the Athenian Alcibiades during the Peloponnesian War, the American shooting down of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto during World War II, or arguably Henri IV of France). Also, they might note that in a time-sensitive situation, such a killing could be useful if only to briefly buy time for a more permanent and effective plan to be set into motion or stall an army as reinforcements rush to the area. There are a number of examples from World War II, the last total war, which show how assassination can be used as an effective military tool both at a tactical and strategic level. The American's perception that Skorzeny's commandos were trying to assassinate Eisenhower during the Battle of the Bulge shows that military assassination, or the threat of it, if well timed can be a very effective tactical move. In an interview with the New York Times Skorzeny denied that he had ever intended to assassinate Eisenhower and could prove it. (page 155, Commando Extraordinary, by Charles Foley). There is also a mention in the same book (Page 35) of a British commando raid to "capture" Rommel. If he had been removed from the board, then that might well have had strategic effects. The British, too, decided not to try to assassinate Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, head of the Abwehr (German military intelligence), because to do so might have improved the service.

Moral issues

Moral equivalence is also important when examining the use of assassination. Opponents of what one American officer called "trial, judgment and execution by intelligence" argue that no state deliberately training, hiring, sanctioning or harbouring an assassin could hope to justify it in such a way that would satisfy its allies and neighbours, much less the affected countries (even though many might use the tactic themselves). In democracies this issue is particularly crucial; much of the impetus for engaging in military action in such states is the motivation of perceived righteousness fighting a brutal enemy, an opinion that is undermined if one's nation is actively and openly engaged in killings outside the laws of war. Many would argue that the negative morale effects alone would outweigh any possible benefits. Therefore a severe injustice is done if a self-proclaimed democracy calls another authority names and mount assassination plots. Supporters of assassination as a policy reply, however, that often the killing of one problematic figure can spare countless lives and years — or even decades — of warfare. An example often cited is the question of what might have come to pass had Adolf Hitler been assassinated in 1935. Countless millions, the argument goes, would have been spared had only such intervention been taken. However, it could be argued that Adolf Hitler was just one man in a Nazi Party of hundreds, and his successor may be just as brutal (not to mention vengeful). Furthermore, it can be argued that this logic would not only justify killing Hitler in 1935 but also killing Adolf in his crib as an innocent infant. However, the widespread attention paid to deeds by those branded as "dictators" such as Saddam Hussein and Idi Amin is seen by many as another persuasive argument towards the necessity of eliminating such individuals. The increasing spectre of terrorism, too, often leads many to question why, if it is "kill or be killed", there should be any delay in taking such action (an opponent would likely be quick to reply, however, that such an action alone leads to the loss of moral equivalence, proving their above argument, although a likely counter could be that moral equivalence is of little use to either a terrorist or one of their dead victims). Others point out that this point of view may create a dangerous slippery slope, to a point where assassination may be advocated, not to save millions of lives, but in order to merely accomplish a self-interested political or economic goal. For an example of this sort of possible over-reaching, see Pat Robertson's comments concerning his advocacy of the assassination of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez.

Techniques

It's entirely likely that the first strategy used by a political or religious killer was a remarkably simple one: find the leader and stab or bludgeon them to death with whatever weapons were available. This would likely have occurred only in close-knit groups where security was not thought needed, such as amongst nomadic or early sedentary peoples in Mesopotamia where disagreements would be solved with vigilantism (however it's important to note that information from this far back is very sketchy and debatable in nature). As civilization took root, however, any leaders in groups began to have more and more a position of importance, and they would become more detached from the groups they ruled. For the first time, subterfuge would become a major factor in engaging in assassination. From ancient times, then, through to the medieval period, as the rate of technology was slow so, too, would be the changes in assassins' tactics. Infiltration was now the name of the game, and commonly a would-be killer would attempt to gain access to an official or person's guard or staff and utilize a variety of methods for exterminating them, be it the same close-contact stabbing or smothering or a more advanced method, such as using poison to induce death. This, however, must be distinguished from efforts by a person or group to remove a person in order to replace them in the power structure; for more on this, see coup d'état. With the advent of gunpowder and far more effective ranged weaponry, however, bodyguards were no longer enough to hold back determined killers, who no longer needed to directly engage or even subvert the guard to kill the leader in question; it could be done from a great distance in a crowded square or even at a church, as with the Pazzi Conspiracy, for example. Often, muskets or rifles might be used to take down a leader from a rooftop, at greater distance, dramatically increasing the chances for survival of an assassin. Also, explosives became increasingly en vogue for deeds requiring a larger touch; for an example of this, see the article on the Gunpowder Plot to blow up Parliament on the state opening. In whatever case, it is interesting to note that just because more modern methods of killing became available does not mean older ones were replaced; indeed, in nations like India killings by knife or sword remain quite popular, as they do in sub-Saharan Africa (for example, with the machete). In fact, since the development of gunpowder each region of the world seems to have its preferred methods of contract murder; besides those mentioned, explosives are quite popular in not only the Middle East but in most of Europe as well, save Northern Europe where shootings become more common, whereas in the Americas assassinations are almost exclusively performed by gunshot. One can make various cases for any of these, including range, detectability, concealability, likelihood of kill, etc. As the Renaissance gave way to the Industrial Revolution, assassination became more and more sophisticated, right up to today. Explosives, especially the car bomb, became far more common, and grenades and landmines were not unheard of either, especially in the Middle East and Balkans (the initial attempt on Archduke Franz Ferdinand's life was with a grenade; he was on his way to visit an aide injured in the first attack when his driver stopped to ask directions and he and his wife were shot). Also, Rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) became an especially useful tool, given the popularity of armored cars discussed below. Today, any manner of different techniques for the elimination of an enemy - popular or not - might be utilized; the sky, as it were, is the limit. One remarkable recent example involved a political figure who made the mistake of keeping to a regular route and schedule. Assassins were able to plan for his travel, and detonated an explosive charge beside the roadway, which propelled a metal plate through the target's vehicle at lethal speed, killing him. Another common option is using a sniper rifle. The only difference is that assassins and their deeds are far more public than ever before, owing not only to mass media but also far better security and control over access.

Counter-measures

It would not be a large stretch to say that, in addition to terrorism, political assassination is one of the biggest threats to any modern state and its government. As such, the measures to which a leader goes to avoid professional killers ranges from what an average person would consider to be farcical to the paranoid to the downright bizarre. Many would argue, though, that such measures are a lot more effective than they first appear, and that in the world of a new threat seemingly each week, no security is too much. One of the earliest forms of defense against assassins is without doubt the bodyguard. Essentially, the bodyguard functions as a counter-assassin, attempting to neutralize the killer before they can make contact with or inflict harm upon the "principal", or protected/targeted official. This function was often executed by the leader's most loyal warriors, and was extremely effective throughout most of early human history, to the point where a direct assassination had to be replaced with carefully-planned subterfuge, such as poison (which was answered by the food taster such as the Beefeaters protecting the English monarchs), and even then such methods were often thwarted. Notable examples of bodyguards would include the Roman Praetorian Guard or the Ottoman janissaries — although, in both cases, it should be noted that the protectors often became assassins themselves, exploiting their power to make the head of state a virtual hostage at their whim or eliminating threatening leaders altogether. Indeed, assassinations both then and today are most often effective when they have the support, tacit or open, of other powerful figures. This is less a concern in the West, where organizations such as the British Special Branch and American Secret Service are noted as well-trained and apolitical protective forces. Disloyal protectors continue to be a problem in developing nations, however; Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi met such an end in 1984. The race was on with the Middle Ages between leaders and assassins as gunpowder became predominant, each in turn trying to develop stronger and better checks against the increasing abilities of the other. One of the first reactions was to simply increase the guard, creating what at times might seem a small army trailing every leader; another was to begin clearing large areas whenever a leader was present, to the point where entire sections of a city might be shut down. Heads of state began to cease taking their armies onto the field personally around this time as well, although this was likely as much due to the increasing skills required for generalship and division of power within the government as it was for safety concerns. As the 20th century dawned, the prevalence of assassins and their capabilities skyrocketed, and so did measures to protect against them. For the first time, armored cars or armored limousines were put into service for safer transport, with modern versions rendering them virtually invulnerable to small arms fire. Bulletproof vests were also commissioned, though not often used for political reasons. Access to famous persons, too, became more and more restrictive; potential visitors would be forced through dozens of different checks and double-checks before being granted access to the official in question, and as communication became better and information technology more prevalent, it has become next-to-impossible for a would-be killer of declared antigovernment or anarchist political affiliation to get close enough to the personage at work to effect an attempt on his or her life, especially given the common use of metal and bomb detectors. As such most modern assassinations have been committed either during a public performance or during transport, both due to weaker security and security lapses, such as with US President John F. Kennedy or as part of coups d'etat where security is either overwhelmed or completely removed, such as with Salvador Allende or Patrice Lumumba. Some of the wilder and arguably stranger methods used for protection by famous people of both today and yesterday have evoked many reactions from different people, some resenting the separation from their officials or major figures, some comforted by the security and some lamenting the state of society that such measures are necessary. One example might be traveling in a car protected by a bubble of clear bulletproof glass, such as the Popemobile of Pope John Paul II (built following an extremist's attempt at his life). Frederick William I of Prussia had an entire command of soldiers above two meters of height, and would reportedly go to great lengths to obtain more. Many leaders, such as Josef Stalin or the Argentinian junta were so possessed by paranoia that they executed their opponents en masse, with the death toll ranging from hundreds to millions. Still others go into seclusion, rarely heard from or seen in public afterwards, such as writer Salman Rushdie or eccentric inventor Howard Hughes, though it is more likely that Hughes was concerned about germs than about assassination. A more exotic form of protection is the use of a body double. A body double in this case is a person who is built similar to the person he is expected to protect and made up to look like him. The body double then takes the place of the person in high risk situations. Fidel Castro, Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein are known to have used body doubles. It is important to note that, in the final analysis, it is thought by many that if a person or group is committed beyond reason or concerns for self-preservation towards the removal of a certain person or leader from not only their position but this plane of existence, then the chances are better than fair that any security measures taken will come to naught. The ninja of Japan and suicide attackers are both groups known for pursuing every avenue for however long necessary to accomplish their 'hit'. Often, such people or groups would operate without concern for their own life in order to gain the slightest chance of eliminating their mark. Certain leaders, notably Abraham Lincoln, were thought to have wrestled with this supposed inevitability during difficult times (with some, like Lincoln's, proving prophetic). In the end it comes down to will - if the will of the would-be assassins to execute their target surpasses that of their security to save them, or the will of the targeted person to survive, then success for a killer may be a matter of time.

Source for conspiracy theories

Assassinations are a classic subject of conspiracy theories. The assassination of a prominent figure is a singular event which can dramatically change the course of public affairs. Those drawn to conspiracy theory are led to ask, in the aftermath of an assassination, Who benefited from this death? Though some assassinations are committed by lone individuals, and many others by aboveboard governments (such as that of Leon Trotsky), and other assassinations are committed as the result of a provable conspiracy, there have been several assassinations whose purposes and evidence remain mysterious in the public eye — and suspicious to most people. Best-known among assassination conspiracy theories in the United States are those dealing with a rash of seemingly politically motivated deaths in the 1960s, notably those of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Investigations and scientific testing and recreations into the circumstances of John F. Kennedy's death have not settled the question of who killed him. That U.S. public opinion considers this still to be an open issue is suggested by three polls in 2003. An ABC News random telephone poll found that just 32% (plus or minus 3%) of Americans believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of John F. Kennedy, while 68% do not believe Oswald acted alone. [http://abcnews.go.com/images/pdf/937a1JFKAssassination.pdf] The "Discovery Channel" poll (sampling method not given) reveals that only 21% believe Oswald acted alone, while 79% do not believe Oswald acted alone. [http://poll.discovery.com/servlet/viewsflash?jfk=6&cmd=tally&pollid=jfk&results=data%2Fdsc%2Fpackage%2Fjfk.results.html&submit.x=51&submit.y=6] The "History Channel" poll (self-selected responses) details that only 17% of respondents believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of John F. Kennedy, while 83% do not believe Oswald acted alone. [http://www.historychannel.com/jfk/jfk_poll_results.jsp] It should, however, be noted that opinion polls of this type are often subject to selection and response biases. Similar theories have arisen around the assassination of Beatle John Lennon, populist Senator Huey Long of Louisiana and the attempted assassinations of George Wallace and U.S. President Ronald Reagan. In recent years conspiracy theories about the deaths of John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Diana, Princess of Wales have made headlines..

See also


- Assassin's Guild
- The Assassination Bureau
- Assassination market
- Asymmetric warfare
- Espionage
- Hashshashin
- Mark (slang)
- Ninja
- Terrorism
- Regicide
- Targeted killing

Related lists


- List of assassins
- List of unsuccessful assassinations
- List of assassinated people
- List of U.S. Presidential assassination attempts

Further reading


- [http://www.yale.edu/yup/books/074743.htm Cloak and Dollar (A History of American Secret Intelligence)] by Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones
- [http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/11/04/us.assassination.policy A short article on the U.S. policy banning political assassination since 1976] from CNN. See also Ford's 1976 [http://www.ford.utexas.edu/library/speeches/760110e.htm#assassination executive order].
- [http://www.historyguy.com/biofiles/domestic_terrorists_and_assassins.html American Domestic Terrorists and Assassins]
- Category:Murder Category:Arabic words ja:暗殺

November 5

November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 56 days remaining. Remember, remember, the fifth of November...

Events


- 1556 - Fifty miles north of Delhi, a Mogul Army defeats Hindu forces of General Hemu to ensure Akbar the throne of India.
- 1605 - Gunpowder Plot: A plot lead by Robert Catesby to blow up the English Houses of Parliament is foiled when Sir Thomas Knyvet, a justice of the peace, finds Guy Fawkes in a cellar below the Parliament building.
- 1688 - Glorious Revolution begins: William of Orange lands at Brixham.
- 1838 - The United States of Central America began to disintegrate when Honduras separated from the federation.
- 1862 - American Civil War: Abraham Lincoln removes George McClellan as commander of the Union Army for the second and final time.
- 1862 - Indian Wars: In Minnesota, more than 300 Santee Sioux are found guilty of rape and murder of white settlers and are sentenced to hang.
- 1872 - Women's suffrage: In defiance of the law, suffragist Susan B. Anthony votes for the first time, and is later fined $100.
- 1895 - George B. Selden is granted the first U.S. patent for an automobile.
- 1911 - After declaring war on the Ottoman Empire on September 29, 1911, Italy annexes Tripoli and Cyrenaica.
- 1912 - U.S. presidential election, 1912: Democratic challenger Woodrow Wilson wins a victory over the Progressive former President Theodore Roosevelt and Republican incumbent William Howard Taft.
- 1913 - The insane king Otto of Bavaria is deposed by his cousin, Prince Regent Ludwig, who assumed the title Ludwig III.
- 1913 - United Kingdom annexes Cyprus, and together with France declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
- 1916 - The Kingdom of Poland proclaimed by the November 5th Act of the emperors of Germany and Austria-Hungary.
- 1916 - The Everett Massacre takes place as political differences lead to a shoot-out between IWW organizers and local police
- 1917 - St. Tikhon of Moscow was elected the Patriarch of Moscow and of the Russian Orthodox Church.
- 1930 - Sinclair Lewis is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
- 1935 - Parker Brothers releases the board game Monopoly.
- 1937 - World War II: Adolf Hitler holds a secret meeting and states his plans for acquiring "living space" for the German people.
- 1940 - U.S. presidential election, 1940: Democrat incumbent Franklin D. Roosevelt defeats Republican challenger Wendell Willkie and becomes the United States' first third-term president.
- 1962 - A mining accident kills 21 miners at the government-owned Kings Bay Coal Company on Svalbard, leading the Norweigian government to close the mine.
- 1968 - U.S. presidential election, 1968: Republican challenger Richard M. Nixon defeats Vice President Hubert Humphrey and American Independent Party candidate George C. Wallace.
- 1970 - Vietnam War: The United States Military Assistance Command in Vietnam reports the lowest weekly American soldier death toll in five years (24).
- 1979 - The radio news program Morning Edition premieres on National Public Radio.
- 1979 - Ayatollah Khomeini declares the USA to be "the great Satan".
- 1985 - Reliquary of St Maurus from the 13th century discovered in a cache in the chapel of Bečov Castle.
- 1987 - Apartheid: In South Africa, Govan Mbeki is released from custody after serving 24 years in the Robben Island prison. He had been sentenced to life for treason against the white minority South Africa government.
- 1990 - Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the far-right Kach movement, is shot dead after a speech at a New York City hotel.
- 1992 - In Detroit, Michigan, black motorist Malice Green is beaten to death by policemen Larry Nevers and Walter Budzyn during a struggle.
- 1994 - A letter by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan is released that announces he has Alzheimer's disease.
- 1994 - Forty-five year old George Foreman becomes boxing's oldest heavyweight champion when he knocks out Michael Moorer.
- 1995 - Jeff "CJayC" Veasey starts up GameFAQs.
- 1996 - U.S. presidential election, 1996: Democrat incumbent Bill Clinton defeats Republican challenger Bob Dole to win his second term.
- 1998 - Lewinsky scandal: As part of the impeachment inquiry, House Judiciary Committee chairman Henry Hyde sends a list of 81 questions to US President Bill Clinton.
- 1998 - The journal Nature publishes a genetic study showing compelling evidence that Thomas Jefferson fathered a son, Eston Hemings Jefferson, by his slave Sally Hemings.
- 1999 - United States v. Microsoft: U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson issues a preliminary ruling that software maker Microsoft had "monopoly power".
- 2003 - The final installment of the Matrix Trilogy (The Matrix Revolutions) is released in theatres simultaneously around the world at 2:00 pm (GMT).

Births


- 1271 - Mahmud Ghazan, Persian ruler (d. 1304)
- 1549 - Philippe de Mornay, French writer (d. 1623)
- 1592 - Charles Chauncy, English-born president of Harvard College (d. 1672)
- 1613 - Isaac de Benserade, French poet (d. 1691)
- 1615 - Ibrahim I, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1648)
- 1667 - Christoph Ludwig Agricola, German painter (d. 1719)
- 1715 - John Brown, English writer (d. 1766)
- 1722 - William Byron, 5th Baron Byron, English dueler (d. 1798)
- 1742 - Richard Cosway, English artist (d. 1821)
- 1851 - Charles Dupuy, French prime minister (d. 1923)
- 1854 - Paul Sabatier, French chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
- 1855 - Léon Teisserenc de Bort, French meteorologist (d. 1913)
- 1855 - Eugene V. Debs, American socialist leader (d. 1926)
- 1857 - Ida Tarbell, American journalist (d. 1944)
- 1885 - Will Durant, American historian (d. 1981)
- 1890 - Jan Zrzavý, Czech painter (d. 1977)
- 1892 - J. B. S. Haldane, Scottish geneticist (d. 1964)
- 1895 - Walter Gieseking, French pianist (d. 1956)
- 1895 - Charles MacArthur, American author (d. 1956)
- 1900 - Martin Dies, Jr., American politician (d. 1972)
- 1900 - Natalie Schafer, American actress (d. 1991)
- 1905 - Joel McCrea, American actor (d. 1990)
- 1906 - Fred Lawrence Whipple, American astronomer (d. 2004)
- 1911 - Roy Rogers, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1913 - Vivien Leigh, English actress (d. 1967)
- 1920 - Douglass North, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1921 - Georges Cziffra, Hungarian pianist (d. 1994)
- 1921 - Fawzia of Egypt, Queen of Iran
- 1931 - Ike Turner, American musician
- 1938 - César Luis Menotti, Argentine footballer
- 1941 - Art Garfunkel, American musician
- 1941 - Elke Sommer, German actress
- 1943 - Sam Shepard, American playwright and actor
- 1946 - Herman Brood, Dutch musician and artist
- 1946 - Gram Parsons, American musician (d. 1973)
- 1947 - Peter Noone, English musician and actor
- 1948 - William Daniel Phillips, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1949 - Armin Shimerman, American actor
- 1952 - Bill Walton, American basketball player and commentator
- 1955 - Bernard Chazelle, French-born computer scientist
- 1958 - Robert Patrick, American actor
- 1959 - Bryan Adams, Canadian musician
- 1963 - Andrea McArdle, American actress
- 1963 - Tatum O'Neal, American actress
- 1965 - Famke Janssen, Danish model and actress
- 1971 - Corin Nemec, American actor
- 1971 - Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood, Guitarist (Radiohead)
- 1973 - Johnny Damon, baseball player
- 1974 - Ryan Adams, American musician
- 1974 - Jerry Stackhouse, American basketball player
- 1975 - Angela Gossow, German singer (Arch Enemy)
- 1977 - Richard Wright, English footballer
- 1986 - BoA, Korean singer
- 1986 - Kasper Schmeichel, Danish footballer

Deaths


- 1515 - Mariotto Albertinelli, Italian painter (b. 1474)
- 1559 - Kano Motonobu, Japanese painter (b. 1476)
- 1660 - Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle, English socialite (b. 1599)
- 1660 - Alexandre de Rhodes, French Jesuit missionary (b. 1591)
- 1701 - Charles Gerard, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, French-born English politician
- 1714 - Bernardino Ramazzini, Italian physician (b. 1633)
- 1752 - Carl Andreas Duker, German classical scholar (b. 1670)
- 1758 - Hans Egede, Norwegian Lutheran missionary (b. 1686)
- 1836 - Karel Hynek Mácha, Czech poet (b. 1810)
- 1879 - James Clerk Maxwell, Scottish physicist (b. 1831)
- 1930 - Christiaan Eijkman, Dutch physician and pathologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1858)
- 1933 - Texas Guinan, American saloon keeper, actress, and musician (b. 1884)
- 1941 - Arndt Pekurinen, Finnish pacifist (b. 1905)
- 1942 - George M. Cohan, American musician, actor, writer, and composer (b. 1878)
- 1944 - Alexis Carrel, French surgeon and biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1873)
- 1951 - Reggie Walker, South African athlete (b. 1889)
- 1955 - Maurice Utrillo, French artist (b. 1883)
- 1956 - Art Tatum, American musician (b. 1909)
- 1960 - Ward Bond, American actor (b. 1903)
- 1960 - Mack Sennett, Canadian producer and director (b. 1880)
- 1974 - Stafford Repp, American actor (b. 1918)
- 1975 - Edward Lawrie Tatum, American geneticist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1909)
- 1975 - Lionel Trilling, American critic and writer (b. 1905)
- 1977 - René Goscinny, French comic book writer (b. 1926)
- 1977 - Guy Lombardo, Canadian conductor (b. 1902)
- 1979 - Al Capp, American cartoonist (b. 1909)
- 1982 - Jacques Tati, French actor and director (b. 1908)
- 1985 - Spencer W. Kimball, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1895)
- 1989 - Vladimir Horowitz, Russian pianist (b. 1903)
- 1990 - Meir Kahane, American rabbi and activist (b. 1932)
- 1991 - Fred MacMurray, American actor (b. 1908)
- 1997 - Isaiah Berlin, Latvian-born historian of ideas (b. 1909)
- 2000 - Victor Grinich, American businessman (b. 1924)
- 2001 - Roy Boulting, English film director and producer (b. 1913)
- 2003 - Bobby Hatfield, American singer (Righteous Brothers) (b. 1940)
- 2005 - Rod Donald, New Zealand environmentalist (b. 1957)
- 2005 - John Fowles, English writer (b. 1926)
- 2005 - Link Wray, American musician (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances


- United Kingdom and New Zealand - Guy Fawkes night (also called Bonfire night; or Fireworks night): Failure of the Gunpowder Plot to blow up Parliament in 1605 is celebrated with bonfires and fireworks.
- R.C. Saints - November 5th is the feast day of the following Roman Catholic Saints:
  - St. Bertilia
  - St. Dominator
  - St. Domninus
  - St. Elizabeth
  - St. Felix and Eusebius
  - St. Fibitius
  - St. Galation
  - St. Laetus
  - St. Magnus
  - St. Sylvia
  - Pope Zacharias
- Ancient Latvia - the festival Katrina

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/5 BBC: On This Day] ---- November 4 - November 6 - October 5 - December 5 - more historical anniversaries ko:11월 5일 ms:5 November ja:11月5日 simple:November 5 th:5 พฤศจิกายน

El Sayyid Nosair

El Sayyid Nosair (born November 16, 1955) is an Egyptian Islamic militant involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. World Trade Center bombing He was arrested in 1990 for the murder of the ultra-Zionist rabbi Meir Kahane. According to prosecutors, a man named Wadih el Hage purchased the .38 caliber revolver used by Nosair. El-Hage was told by a man named Mahmud Abouhalima to buy the gun. He was acquitted of murder but convicted of gun charges. There were dozens of bomb-making manuals and documents related to terrorist plots found in the apartment, but they had not been translated into the English language from the Arabic language. On March 8, 1991, El-Hage visited El Sayyid Nosair in Rikers Island. Nosair was later convicted as part of the trial of the blind sheik Omar Abdel Rahman. Both of them received life sentences for the World Trade Center bombing and conspiracy, in Nosair's case actually life plus 15 years of imprisonment.[http://www.tkb.org/CaseHome.jsp?caseid=332] Since it was ruled that Kahane's death was part of the total "seditious conspiracy," Nosair was finally convicted of killing Kahane.[http://www.cnn.com/US/9510/terror_trial/update/] He is serving his sentence in ADX Florence, the Federal ADX Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado. Nosair, El Sayyid Nosair, El Sayyid Nosair, El Sayyid

Rabbi

:See Semicha for article about "ordination" of rabbis. Rabbi (Classical Hebrew רִבִּי ribbī;; modern Ashkenazi and Israeli רַבִּי rabbī) in Judaism, means "teacher", or more literally "great one". The word "Rabbi" is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means "great" or "distinguished, (in knowledge)". In the ancient Judean schools the sages were addressed as רִבִּי (Ribbi or Rebbi) — in recent centuries being re-vocalized to Rabbi ("my master"). This term of respectful address gradually came to be used as a title, the pronominal suffix "i" ("my") losing its significance with the frequent use of the term. In Eastern Europe, Rabbi is vocalized as "Ravin," (Раввин). The role of rabbis within Jewish communities has been and continues to be multifaceted. In ancient times, Rabbi was a Hebrew term used as a title for those who were distinguished for learning, who were the authoritative teachers of the Law, or who were the appointed religious leaders of their community. Today rabbis are still responsible for teaching on matters of Jewish religion in general and law in particular; and are usually qualified to determine the applicability of Jewish law. Rabbis often work as religious leaders. Synagogue rabbis (also known as "pulpit rabbis") typically speak on behalf of their communities on a wide range of issues, offer spiritual leadership for their congregation, and are usually involved in Jewish lifecycle events. Nevertheless, rabbis are not essential to the performance of Jewish liturgy and ritual, and Jewish congregations can persist indefinitely without a rabbi assigned to them. Some religious leaders such as Hasidic rebbes and Talmudic rosh yeshivas may not even have a formal semicha ("ordination") and may have arrived at their positions by lineage or by being acknowledged for their great knowledge and insights into Talmud and Halakha and other areas of traditional Torah scholarship. It is safe to say that the title of "rabbi" is probably more of a "credential" or title, not a particular "job".

History

Moses and Joshua: The first "rabbis"

By tradition Moses was the first rabbi of the Children of Israel. To this day he is known to most Jews as Moshe Rabbeinu ("Moses our Teacher"). Moses is also considered the greatest prophet in the Hebrew Bible. Moses passed his leadership on to Joshua as commanded by God in the Book of Numbers, where the subject of semicha ("laying [of hands]" or "ordination") is first mentioned in the Torah in Numbers 27:15-23 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=4&CHAPTER=27] and Deuteronomy 34:9 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=5&CHAPTER=34]. By Jewish tradition, the authority granted by semicha has been passed from rabbi to rabbi from Moses to the present day.

Era of the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible)

The governments of the kingdoms of Israel and the Judah were based on a system of Jewish kings, prophets, the legal authority of the court of the Sanhedrin and the ritual authority of priesthood. Members of the Sanhedrin all had to receive their semicha ("ordination" derived in an uninterrupted line of transmission from Moses) yet they were more frequently referred to as judges (dayanim) akin to the Shoftim or "Judges" as in the Book of Judges, rather than rabbis. All of the above personalities would have been expected and assumed to be steeped in the wisdom of the Torah and the commandments which would have made them "rabbis" to our way of thinking. This is illustrated by an important two thousand year old teaching in Ethics of the Fathers (Pirkei Avot) of the Mishnah which cites King David by saying: :He who learns from his fellowman a single chapter, a single halakha, a single verse, a single Torah statement, or even a single letter, must treat him with honor. For so we find with David King of Israel, who learned nothing from Ahitophel except two things, yet called him his teacher (in Hebrew: rabbo -- meaning his "rabbi"), his guide, his intimate, as it is said: 'You are a man of my measure, my guide, my intimate' (Psalms 55:14). One can derive from this the following: If David King of Israel who learned nothing from Ahitophel except for two things, called him his teacher (i.e. rabbo -- his "rabbi"), his guide, his intimate, one who learns from his fellowman a single chapter, a single halakha, a single verse, a single statement, or even a single letter, how much more must he treat him with honor. And honor is due only for Torah, as it is said: 'The wise shall inherit honor' (Proverbs 3:35), 'and the perfect shall inherit good' (Proverbs 28:10). And only Torah is truly good, as it is said: 'I have given you a good teaching, do not forsake My Torah' (Psalms 128:2). (Ethics of the Fathers 6:3) With the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem, the end of the Jewish monarchy, and the decline of the dual instititutions of prophets and the priesthood, the focus of scholarly and spiritual leadership within the Jewish people shifted to the sages of the Men of the Great Assembly (Anshe Knesset HaGedolah). This assembly was composed by the earliest "rabbis" as we know them for the last two thousand years, in large part because they began the formulation and explication of what became known as Judaism's "Oral Law (Torah SheBe'al Peh). This was eventually encoded and codified within the Mishnah and Talmud and subsequent rabbinical scholarship, producing what is known as "Rabbinical Judaism".

Sages as rabbis

The rabbi is not an occupation found in the Torah (i.e the Pentateuch) as such; the first time this word is mentioned is in the Mishnah (most commonly thought to be codified around 200 C.E, that codification often attributed to Rabbi Judah Hanasi). The more ancient generations had no such titles as Rabban, Ribbi, or Rab , for either the Babylonian sages or the sages in Israel. This is evident from the fact that Hillel I, who came from Babylon, did not have the title Rabban prefixed to his name. Of the prophets, also, who were very eminent, it is simply said, "Haggai the prophet" etc., "Ezra did not come up from Babylon" etc., the title Rabban not being used. Indeed, this title is not met with earlier than the time of the patriarchate. This title was first used for Rabban Gamaliel the elder, Rabban Simeon his son, and Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai, all of whom were patriarchs or presidents of the Sanhedrin. The title Ribbi too, came into vogue among those who received the laying on of hands at this period, as, for instance, Ribbi Zadok, Ribbi Eliezer ben Jacob, and others, and dates from the time of the disciples of Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai downward. Now the order of these titles is as follows: Ribbi is greater than Rab; Rabban again, is greater than Ribbi; while the simple name is greater than Rabban. Besides the presidents of the Sanhedrin no one is called Rabban. The title "Ribbi" was borne by the sages of ancient Israel, who were ordained by the Sanhedrin in accordance with the custom handed down by the elders. They were titled Ribbi and received authority to judge penal cases. Rab was the title of the Babylonian sages who received their ordination in the Talmudical yeshivas. The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Pharisaic and Talmudic era.

The role of the rabbi in the last 200 years

In 19th century Germany and the United States, the duties of the rabbi became increasingly influenced by the duties of the Protestant Christian Minister, hence the title "pulpit rabbis". Sermons, pastoral counseling, representing the community to the outside, all increased in importance. Non-Orthodox rabbis, on a day-to-day business basis, now spend more time on these traditionally non-rabbinic functions than they do teaching, or answering questions on Jewish law and philosophy. Within the Modern Orthodox community, rabbis still mainly deal with teaching and questions of Jewish law, but are increasingly dealing with these same pastoral functions. Orthodox Judaism's National Council of Young Israel and Modern Orthodox Judaism's Rabbinical Council of America have set up supplemental pastoral training programs for their rabbis. Traditionally, rabbis have never been an intermediary between God and man. This idea was traditionally considered outside the bounds of Jewish theology.

Women and the rabbinical credential

Jewish tradition and law does not presume that women have more or less of an aptitude or moral standing required of rabbis. However, it has been the longstanding practice that only men become rabbis. This practice is continued to this day within the Orthodox community but has been revised within the non-Orthodox organizations, including the Reform, Reconstructionist, and Conservative movements, where women are routinely granted semicha on an equal basis with men. The issue of allowing women to become rabbis is not under active debate within the Orthodox community, though there is widespread agreement that women may often be consulted on matters of Jewish religious law. There have been reports that a small number of Orthodox yeshivas may have unofficially granted semicha to women, but the prevailing consensus among Orthodox leaders and a small number of Conservative communities is that it is not appropriate for women to become rabbis. The idea that women could eventually be ordained as rabbis has sparked widespread opposition among the Orthodox rabbinate. Rabbi Norman Lamm, one of the leaders of Modern Orthodoxy and Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva University's Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, totally opposes giving semicha to women. "It shakes the boundaries of tradition, and I would never allow it." (Helmreich, 1997) Writing in an article in the Jewish Observer, Moshe Y'chiail Friedman states that Orthodox Judaism prohibits women from being given semicha and serving as rabbis. He holds that the trend towards this goal is driven by sociology, and not halakha ("Jewish law".)

Modern Orthodox trends in female leadership

On the other hand, several efforts are underway within Modern Orthodox communities to include qualified women in activities traditionally limited to rabbis:
- In the United States, Modern Orthodox rabbis Avi Weiss and Saul Berman created an advanced educational institute for women called Torat Miriam. They do not claim that the graduates of this institute are rabbis, but that the long term goal is to have women "work on a professional level in the synagogue," he said. (Helmreich, 1997)
- Rabbi Aryeh Strikovski (Mahanayim Yeshiva and Pardes Institute) worked in the 1990s with Rabbi Avraham Shapira (then a co-Chief rabbi of Israel) to initiate the program for training Orthodox women as halakhic Toanot ("advocates") in rabbinic courts. They have since trained nearly seventy women. Strikovski states that "The knowledge one requires to become a court advocate is more than a regular ordination, and now to pass certification is much more difficult than to get ordination." The use of Toanot is not restricted to any one segment of Orthodoxy; In Israel they have worked with Haredi and Modern Orthodox Jews.
- In Israel a growing number of Orthodox women are being trained as yoatzot halachah, who serve many in the Israeli Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community.
- Orthodox women may study the laws of family purity at the same level of detail that Orthodox males do at Nishmat, the Jerusalem Center for Advanced Jewish Study for Women. The purpose is for them to be able to act as halakhic advisors for other women, a role that traditionally was limited to male rabbis. This course of study is overseen by Rabbi Yaakov Varhaftig.
- Rahel Berkovits, an Orthodox Talmud teacher at Jerusalem's Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, states that as a result of such changes in Haredi and Modern Orthodox Judaism, "Orthodox women found and oversee prayer communities, argue cases in rabbinic courts, advise on halachic issues, and dominate in social work activities that are all very associated with the role a rabbi performs, even though these women do not have the official title of rabbi."

Becoming a rabbi

Traditionally, a man obtains semicha ("rabbinic ordination") after the completion of an arduous learning program in the codes of Jewish law and responsa. The most general form of semicha is Yorei yorei ("he shall teach"). Most Orthodox rabbis hold this qualification; they are sometimes called a moreh hora'ah ("a teacher of lessons"). A more advanced form of semicha is Yadin yadin ("he shall judge"). This enables the recipient to adjudicate cases of monetary law, amongst other responsibilities. He is addressed as a dayan ("judge"). Few rabbis earn this ordination. Although not strictly necessary, many Orthodox rabbis hold that a beth din (court of Jewish law) should be made up of dayanim.

Orthodox Judaism

An Orthodox semicha requires the successful completion of a rigorous program encompassing Jewish law and responsa in keeping with longstanding tradition. Orthodox rabbinical students work to gain knowledge in Talmud, Rishonim and Acharonim (early and late medieval commentators) and Jewish law. They study sections of the Shulkhan Arukh (codified Jewish law) and its main commentaries that pertain to daily-life questions (such as the laws of keeping kosher, Shabbat, and the laws of sex and family purity. Orthodox rabbis typically study at yeshivas, which are dedicated religious schools. Modern Orthodox rabbinical students such as at Yeshiva University study some elements of modern theology or philosophy, as well as the classical rabbinic works on such subjects. The entrance requirements for an Orthodox yeshiva include a strong background within Jewish law, liturgy, Talmudic study, and attendant languages (e.g., Hebrew, Aramaic and in some cases Yiddish). Since rabbinical studies typically flow from other yeshiva studies, those who seek a semicha are typically not required to have completed a university education.

Haredi and Hasidic Judaism

While Haredi and Hasidic yeshivas (also known as "Talmudical/Rabbinical schools or academies") do grant official semicha ("ordination") to many students wishing to become rabbis, most of the students within the yeshivas are not learning Torah or Talmud because they desire to become rabbis or hold any official positions. The curriculum for obtaining semicha ("ordination") as rabbis for Haredi and Hasidic scholars is the same as described above for all Orthodox students wishing to obtain the official title of "Rabbi" and to be recognized as such. Women do not, and cannot, become "rabbis" in the Haredi and Hasidic worlds. Only men can do so, and only after a long process of study in, and recognition by, their own yeshivas. Within the Hasidic world, the positions of spiritual leadership are dynastically transmitted within established families, usually from fathers to sons, while a small number of students obtain official ordination to become dayanim ("judges") on religious courts, poskim ("decisors" of Jewish law), as well as teachers in the Hasidic schools. The same is true for the non-Hasidic mitnagdim yeshivas that are controlled by dynastically transmitted rosh yeshivas and the majority of students will not not become rabbis, even after many years of post-graduate kollel study. Some yeshivas, such as Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim (in New York) and Yeshiva Ner Yisrael (in Baltimore, Maryland), may encourage their students to obtain ordination and mostly serve as rabbis who teach in other yeshivas or Hebrew day schools. Other yeshivas, such as Yeshiva Chaim Berlin (Brooklyn, New York) or the Mir yeshiva (in Brooklyn and Jerusalem), do not have an official "semicha/rabbinical program" to train rabbis, but provide semicha on an "as needs" basis if and when one of their senior students is offered a rabbinical position but only with the approval of their rosh yeshivas. Consequently, within the world of Hasidic Judaism and Haredi Judaism, the English word and title of "Rabbi" for anyone is often-times scorned and derided, because in their view the once-lofty title of "Rabbi" has been debased in modern times. Hasidim and Haredim will therefore prefer using Hebrew names for rabbinic titles based on older traditions, such as: Rav (denoting "[great] rabbi"), HaRav ("the [great] rabbi"), Moreinu HaRav ("our teacher the [great] rabbi"), Moreinu ("our teacher"), Moreinu VeRabeinu HaRav ("our teacher and our rabbi/master the [great] rabbi"), Moreinu VeRabeinu ("our teacher and our rabbi/master"), Rosh yeshiva ("[the] head [of the] yeshiva"), Rosh HaYeshiva ("head [of] the yeshiva"), "Mashgiach" (for Mashgiach ruchani) ("spiritual supervsor/guide"), Mora DeAsra ("teacher/decisor" [of] the/this place"), HaGaon ("the genius"), Rebbe ("[our/my] rabbi"), HaTzadik ("the righteous/saintly"), HaKadosh ("the holy"), "ADMOR" ("Adoneinu Moreinu VeRabeinu") ("our master, our teacher and our rabbi/master") or often just plain Reb which is a shortened form of rebbe that can be used by, or applied to, any Jewish male as the situation applies. Note: A Rebbetzin (a Yiddish usage common among Ashkenazim) or a Rabbanit (in Hebrew and used among Sephardim) is the official "title" used for, or by, the wife of any Orthodox, Haredi, or Hasidic rabbi. Rebbetzin may also be used as the equivalent of Reb and is sometimes abbreviated as such as well.

Conservative and Masorti Judaism

Conservative Judaism holds that one may obtain rabbinic ordination after the completion of a rigorous program in the codes of Jewish law and responsa in keeping with Jewish tradition. It adds to these requirements by adding the study of: the Hebrew Bible, Mishna and Talmud, the Midrash literature, Jewish ethics and lore, the codes of Jewish law, the Conservative responsa literature, both traditional and modern Jewish works on theology and philosophy. Conservative Judaism has less stringent study requirements for Talmud and responsa study compared to Orthodoxy but adds following subjects as requirements for rabbinic ordination: pastoral care and psychology, the historical development of Judaism; and academic biblical criticism. Entrance requirements to a Conservative rabbinical study include a strong background within Jewish law and liturgy, knowledge of Hebrew, familiarity with rabbinic literature, Talmud, etc., and the completion of an undergraduate university degree. Rabbinical students usually earn a secular degree (e.g., Master of Hebrew Letters) upon graduation. Conservative seminaries are now ordaining female rabbis and training female cantors. There are still traditional conservative congregations (many found in Ontario, Canada) that resist this movement.

Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism

Reconstructionist Judaism and Reform Judaism have different requirements for ordination. Though Reform and Reconstructionist rabbis may learn less Talmud, Codes and halakhic responsa than in Orthodox or Conservative seminaries, they may study more in other areas such as Kabbalah, Hasidism, sociology, cultural studies, and modern Jewish philosophy. The Reform or Reconstructionist rabbinical seminaries require students to first earn a bachelor's degree before entering the rabbinate. In addition, studies are mandated in pastoral care and psychology, the historical development of Judaism; and academic biblical criticism. Both men and women may be rabbis or cantors. The seminary of Reform Judaism is the Hebrew Union College. It has campuses in Cincinati, OH, New York City, Los Angeles, CA and in Jerusalem, Israel. The rabbinical college for Reconstructionist Judaism is called The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and is located in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia.

Acceptance of who is a rabbi

Historically and to the present day, recognition of a rabbi relates to the person's competence to interpret Jewish law and act as a teacher on central matters within Judaism. More broadly speaking, it is also an issue of being a worthy successor to a sacred legacy. As a result, there have always been greater or lesser disputes about the legitimacy and authority of rabbis. Historical examples include Samaritans and Karaites. Acceptance of rabbinic credentials involves both issues of practicality and principle. As a practical matter, communities and individuals typically tend to follow the authority of the rabbi they have chosen as their leader (known as the mara d'atra) on issues of Jewish law. They may recognize that other rabbis have the same authority elsewhere, but for decisions and opinions they will work through their rabbi. The same pattern is true within broader communities, ranging from Chassidic sects to rabbinical or congregational organizations: there will be a formal or de facto structure of rabbinic authority that is responsible for the members of the community. The divisions between the various religious branches within Judaism may have their most pronounced manifestation on whether rabbis from one movement recognizes the legitimacy and/or authority of rabbis in another. As a general rule, rabbis are reluctant to accept the authority of other rabbis whose halachic standards are not as strict as their own. In some cases, this leads to an outright rejection of even the legitimacy of other rabbis; in others, the more lenient rabbi may be recognized as a spiritual leader of a particular community but may not be accepted as a credible authority on Jewish law.
- As a result, the Orthodox rabbinical establishment rejects the validity of